Each time I slip on a rain jacket, I give thanks that we now not should wrap ourselves in thick, smelly sealskin to remain dry. The very best rain jackets at present are extra comfy and watertight than ever, due to advances in weatherproof textiles and attire design. However relying on the local weather and your stage of exercise, sorting by way of totally different types, applied sciences, and waterproof rankings could be complicated.
Yearly, I check dozens of rain jackets by way of the soggy Pacific Northwest winter. I hike, bike, run, and stroll my canines—generally I even stand within the bathe with my garments on when the climate isn’t cooperating. I additionally acquired recommendation from Amber Williams, a professor at Brigham Younger College who has been an professional on outside product design. All to seek out the rain jackets price your money and time.
Remember to take a look at the remainder of our outdoor coverage, together with the Best Puffer Jackets, Best Merino Wool Clothes, and Best Hoodies. If you’d like a extra in-depth clarification for what these phrases imply (like, what’s hydrostatic head?) we’ve a fabric explainer here.
Desk of Contents
Up to date November 2025: We added the Arc’teryx Beta SL, the Lolë Piper 2.0, the Páramo Velez Journey Smock, the Helly Hansen utility rain coat, the North Face Antora, the North Face Mountain Parka, the Finisterre Stormbird, and the Rab Firewall Alpine and Phantom.
Greatest General
{Photograph}: Adrienne So
Yearly, I attempt to discover one other jacket that beats the Arc’teryx Beta SL for roominess and dryness, and it is simply inconceivable. Regardless of its extravagant value, that is the jacket that I all the time find yourself reaching for when an atmospheric river begins pouring by way of Portland. That is Arc’teryx’s lightest rain shell. It has Gore-Tex’s newest material innovation, referred to as ePE (expanded polyethylene)—it is a breathable, waterproof membrane laminated to a nylon face that is additionally freed from carcinogenic perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and has a hydrostatic head (HH) score of 28,000, which is fairly unbelievable (the usual is round 10,000). In relation to rainwear, I sacrifice sustainability in favor of not getting moist—being chilly and moist actually sucks and may very well be life-threatening within the flawed state of affairs. However this jacket has saved me dry by way of the bugging-est out, sideways-pouring rain.
Options-wise, the hood is sufficiently big for my hair (or a helmet, in case your hair is smaller than my hair), with adjustable cuffs and pit zips (crucial for exercise!). And in contrast to many different jackets, the ladies’s model has loads of house for my shoulders and arms to maneuver freely for biking, mountain climbing, and shifting heavy objects. In case you’re solely getting one rain jacket, it ought to be this one.
Greatest Rain Jacket for Ladies
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{Photograph}: Adrienne So
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{Photograph}: Adrienne So
I really like this rain jacket. I used to be strolling within the metropolis with my buddy (within the rain) when a truck all of the sudden went by way of a puddle proper subsequent to us on the highway and coated me head to toe, Intercourse and the Metropolis-style. This jacket saved me dry. Its waterproofing specs are common—it makes use of a carbon-based, sturdy water repellent and has a HH score of 10K, which is about half the waterproofing of what a few of our different picks have—however I actually like its design options.
I am 5’2″ and it is lengthy sufficient to cowl my shins. You may button the cuffs to stop water from operating down the sleeves. It has a number of (big) pockets for all of your random walking-around wants, with each zippered and open choices. The match is extremely free for layering—why do not extra outside manufacturers do that? I am very small on the bell curve of humanity, however I should not must measurement as much as males’s medium to get a measurement free sufficient for layering! Most significantly, it packs up into its personal small, self-contained backpack with straps so you’ll be able to cling it on a wall whenever you get to the celebration as a substitute of leaving an enormous, soaking garment to hold from a hook and drip throughout all the pieces.
★ Various: In case you’re not making an attempt to remain dry for hours whereas outdoors and also you additionally like a feature-rich rain jacket with large pockets, I just like the Helly Hansen utility rain coat ($200), which additionally covers quite a lot of your physique and has quite a lot of pocket choices.
Greatest Rubber Rain Jacket
{Photograph}: Adrienne So
For the reason that Sixties, fashionable rainwear has relied on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals”, to waterproof clothes. Fashionable sturdy water repellents (DWRs) use PFAS in manufacturing, which then migrate out of your clothes into soil and streams as you tromp round outdoors. Right this moment, many corporations are decreasing the degrees of PFAS of their merchandise, most likely as a result of states are banning these chemicals.
The easiest way to ensure you haven’t got PFAS in your coat is to go together with a basic rubber raincoat, like Stutterheim’s Stockholm raincoat. Technical rain jacket producers are inclined to shrink back from polyurethane as a result of it is, nicely, rubbery. However the materials is sturdy, long-lasting, windproof, waterproof, and PFAS-free. I additionally want rubber rain jackets in damp coastal climates, just like the Pacific Northwest. Breathability is much less of a sticking level when the air is already humid.
